


The Dragon and The Heavens

by OMGitsgreen



Series: The Tales and Dreams of Dragons [9]
Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Gen, Origin Story, Original Dragon Warriors - Freeform, Originally Posted on Tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-27
Updated: 2015-04-27
Packaged: 2018-03-25 23:46:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3829378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OMGitsgreen/pseuds/OMGitsgreen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Hiryuu, more than anything, wished to find those he dreamed with. To hold those children within his arms and protect them with all his might. It was for them that he had descended from heaven, begun to build his kingdom, and tried to make a world in which they could be happy." The story of the fall and the rise of Hiryuu, as he changes from God to man, and becomes wholly invested in those whose fates are tied with his own. An If The Sky Could Dream sidestory</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Dragon and The Heavens

**Author's Note:**

> Part of my originals series, it’s time for my first ever attempt at a Hiryuu-centric piece! Writing from the perspective of a former God was definitely not a walk in the park, but I ended up liking it so whatever! I hope you all enjoy not only the story of Hiryuu’s fall, but of him meeting each individual Dragon. After this comes Zeno’s tale and the last installment of the originals drabbles I have planned!

_"However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them?"_  
-Buddha

* * *

The first thing Hiryuu knew in his new form as a human was pain.

His body had been crushed and reformed, every essence of his being crying out for mercy as he had fallen from the heavens. His flesh had been rubbed raw of his scales, his wings torn from his back, his body had been burned with such exquisitely horrifying heat that had caused him at one point to think he had burned away into nothing. The pain, such pain tore through him, and it was that pain of having his godhood ripped from his body that Hiryuu would remember about being a God. He had assumed a human body from that point on, a human mind, and therefore the distant shores of the future and the endless memories of the past were stripped clean from his mind as was his divine powers. Hiryuu could barely recall what the heavens were like, nor what path he took which led him to fall from the skies. All he remembered was his brothers’ tears and that promise he had made to those who looked up to He on high:

A promise that he would make their world a better place, and to do that he could no longer watch on.

And Hiryuu awoke upon the ground, the dirt clinging to his skin and branches and leaves tangled in his hair as he looked up to see the canopy he had fallen through, the broken branches and the light streaming down upon him. At first the thought of where he had landed passed idly through his mind, but he soon realized it had been in that place. That little world he had so often looked upon from the heavens.

And he cried, and for a reason that was unknown to him felt a great emptiness in his heart.

* * *

The Oracle came for him then. He had a vision of a Dragon descending to the lands and awoke to a red star. The Oracle told him with a warm smile that he would bring Hiryuu to the temple, where he would be well fed and well cared for. He was bathed, wrapped in warm robes, and then the others in the temple looked on at him as he sat beside them. Hiryuu had never known hunger before or thirst, but when the water filled his mouth it calmed that strange itching sensation in his throat, and when he scooped rice into his mouth it soothed the tightness in his belly he was amazed and delighted. Humans, Hiryuu thought, had it quite difficult. And that only made them more admirable to him.

“Will…will you not take dinner in the private room, Lord?” The Oracle asked and Hiryuu smiled at him kindly.

“No. I shall eat among you, who have fed me and cared for me.”

“What is it that you hope to accomplish here, my Lord?” The Oracle finally asked and Hiryuu looked off to the gathering of monks who awaited his answer with baited breath.

“I have come to create a kingdom on earth worthy of humanity’s dignity. That is my greatest ambition.” Hiryuu explained to the Oracle before bowing his head, “Please, I entreat you to help me on my mission.”

“What kind of God are you, to bow your head before a human?”

“I am no longer a God. I am simply a human now. But if it could be allowed, I would be honored if I could be your king.” Hiryuu said with a laugh and a smile.

* * *

Hiryuu had thought that he had lost all his godly powers when he had fallen from the heaven, but still he discovered he maintained the gift of dream-seeing.

Hiryuu had begun to have dreams that filled him at night. At first they came to him abstractly, perhaps the flashing of an image, or a scent, or a sensation that raced over his skin. But as Hiryuu continued to consolidate power in his newly formed kingdom, the dreams became more detailed and more persistent.

The images came in fours: a drowsy village nestled in warm summer sunlight, the waterfall by a river that moved along in a gentle pace, the wind filled with the petals of a blooming tree in a court yard, the gentle creak of a spinning wheel being turned in worn but comfortable home. And every vision came with a different sense of feelings and emotions, and Hiryuu knew they were separate being, humans, and what they felt was what brought him ever closer to them.

The visions were lifelike, so much so that sometimes when Hiryuu awoke his cheeks were stained with tears. He didn’t cry because he was in mourning, but instead his tears fell for the wonderful lives that he had shared with those whom he dreamt with. Hiryuu could not help but try to reach out through those dreams to those who he felt through them, but he could not reach them, though somehow he knew that his fate was inexplicably tied to those dreamers. The time would come, Hiryuu knew, when the connection would become apparent to him. And until that day he needed to keep his heart open to receive those dreams.

But as his conquest reached a fever-pitch, the dreams changed as well, and instead of gratefulness Hiryuu became seized with hysteria. He would awake gasping, his heart pounding out of his chest, on the verge of nausea from the raw emotions that tormented him. The battlefield filled with the bloated and stinking corpses of the dead that turned his stomach and the emptiness of a world without a home, the weight of a sword and the burden of self-loathing and horror as hands dripped with blood and stained everything he touched, the terror of pursuit in a dark forest that twisted and caged a child within, and a crushing sense of despondency as he grappled with the loss of his innocence, and the deepest mourning raised from a mother’s last kiss and the great loneliness caused by the morning dawning without her.

Hiryuu, more than anything, wished to find those he dreamed with. To hold those children within his arms and protect them with all his might. It was for them that he had descended from heaven, begun to build his kingdom, and tried to make a world in which they could be happy. It had to be for them that he continued to work as hard as he could. And so when he was taken and dragged before the gallows, the cold metal of a sword pressed to his neck, his greatest regret was of never reaching those whom he had so desperately sought.

And in that moment of his greatest despair, his brothers descended from the heavens.

The light was so intense that it drove those in attendance back and away, screaming and crying as the heavens themselves parted for their descent. Hiryuu felt tears gather in his eyes, for he had missed them all desperately, the brave and selfless Hakuryuu, the kind and protective Seiryuu, the loving and wild Ryoukuryuu, and the gentle and steadfast Ouryuu, and was glad to see them despite the circumstances.

_**“Hiryuu, we are here to get you!”**_ His elder brothers called, their voices causing the ground to shake, _**“Annihilate these humans without faith, love, or the ability to learn, and come back to heaven!”**_

Hiryuu shook his head, feeling his tears fall once more. He could never do such a thing, he could never abandon these humans. For within this realm he had felt the greatest communion with those whom he had loved, and with a voice cracking with his emotion he pleaded to his elder brothers,

“No, I am human now. Even if humans betray me, I cannot stop my love for them.” Hiryuu told them honestly, his heart clenching in his chest. Hiryuu saw them look at him with an intensity that hummed in his bones before bowing their heads and disappearing back towards the heavens as what remained of Hiryuu’s army ran towards the now-abandoned township and his general looked around in confusion.

“What…what happened your highness?” He asked, as his men unbound Hiryuu and he just continued looking towards the sky, knowing in his gut that something was on the wind, and that his brothers would certainly not leave him unless they had a plan otherwise.

“I have no idea.”

* * *

It was a day later that commotion was heard within the camp as Hiryuu sat among his generals and attempted to plan his next move.

“I have to see him!” A voice called out, rough and loud and started Hiryuu in his tent.

“By the heavens what happened to you, Guen! Your arm!” One of the men screamed and suddenly a man forced his way into the tent, causing the general to gap and Hiryuu to stand up, and his jaw slacken in awe.

Hair as white as snow, eyes bluer then any sky, and an arm covered with scales and with claws that could certainly cut through the heavens stole Hiryuu’s breath away. As their eyes met, Hiryuu felt the resonance within him, knew his brother’s blood was within this human, and the human dropped to his knees before Hiryuu and bowed his head.

“My King, it is my greatest honor to serve you.” The man whom the other soldiers had called Guen gasped, tears streaking his cheeks. Hiryuu reached out to touch his face, and as soon as he did the images of the sleepy village that was lost in the sea of time, an embrace that showered him with warm tears, and the field littered with dead flashed before his eyes, as well as the White Dragon that had appeared before this man. So this is what his brothers had done, Hiryuu thought, before smiling.

“My brother sent you, Warrior?” Hiryuu asked of the man, who nodded eagerly and clasped his hand over his heart.

“To protect and serve you for the rest of my life my king, the White Dragon blessed me with his blood.” The Warrior Guen said, “My name is Guen, my king, and it is the greatest of pleasures to make your acquaintance.”

“And it is the greatest pleasure of mine to finally meet you.” Hiryuu said, feeling in heart that a part of him that had been lost had suddenly been recovered. “Now, if we may continue on with the meeting…?”

Guen smiled sheepishly at him before beginning to laugh.

* * *

The hooded man stood in the center of the road as Hiryuu and Guen and their company approached. Guen immediately descended from his horse to attack before Hiryuu called him off and got off his own horse to greet the man who dropped to one knee before him and bowed his head.

“My King, I have come to meet you.” The man said, his voice soft and as quiet as the wind through the reeds. Hiryuu smiled gently at him.

“My Dragon Warrior, please, I wish to see your face.” Hiryuu asked of him, and tentatively the second Dragon Warrior pulled off his hood to reveal hair as blue as Hydrangea flowers, and looked up to reveal a face so elegant and pale it appeared delicately sculpted in the image of the moon. And yet his most striking feature was his eyes, highlighted by the red marks beneath, that shown a dazzling amber that was more beautiful than any sight in the world. It was then Hiryuu saw in those eyes a deep sadness, a flowering tree, felt the heaviness of a sword that lusted for blood, and a Blue Dragon that had flown down from the heavens.

“Did my brother send you, Warrior?” Hiryuu asked of him and the other man nodded.

“So that I may be of use in this world for good, the Blue Dragon gave me his blood.” The Warrior said before standing up and bowing his head once more. There was no doubt from the way he walked that he was an experienced fighter, and yet his sword was bound at the hilt to never open.

“Then shall you follow me, Warrior?”

“Yes, my king.” The Warrior said with his eyes still drawn down.

“What is your name?” Hiryuu asked and the man continued to look down, and for a few moments did not answer him before finally saying,

“Abi, my lord.”

“Then it is wonderful to make your acquaintance, Abi.” Hiryuu said with a smile and watched as the other man’s cheeks flushed slightly and he shifted uncomfortably on his feet before suddenly looking up at Guen.

“Stop staring at me!” He demanded causing Hiryuu to jump but Guen to laugh merrily and to pull the other man into a bear hug.

“Why are you so shy? We’re brothers now! My name’s Guen! I’ve been gifted with Hakuryuu’s blood!”

“I can’t breathe!” Abi gasped, “For Heaven’s sake how strong is that arm of yours, Hakuryuu?”

“I can flatten a mountain with it, so it’s plenty strong!” 

“Well stop using it, it hurts!” Abi complained, “Personal space!”

“Don’t be so shy, Seiryuu!” Guen chuckled as he let go and Abi just huffed and turned on his foot to look at some bewildered soldiers.

“I shall like to have a horse too. Walking all this distance has tired me.” Abi said and Hiryuu watched in delight as a bird suddenly landed upon his shoulder.

Hiryuu laughed and remounted his horse.

* * *

He fell from the sky in the heat of battle.

The man with hair as green as forest greenery and eyes like orchids laughed in glee and smiled with bloodthirst as he decimated enemy soldiers with expertly timed swings of his spear. To the surprise of all in attendance he kicked one man so far that nearly cleared the enemy’s tents over the ridge. When he had cut a swath through the enemy so devastating that the enemy was forced to retreat, with obvious discomfort he fell to his knees before Hiryuu.

“Did my brother send you, Warrior?” Hiryuu asked the man who just grimaced and stood up, bowing woodenly before Hiryuu as if unused to offering respect to anyone.

“Yes, in order to achieve my dream I received the Green Dragon’s blood, and in return I shall serve you, as my king.” The Warrior explained, hefting his spear over his shoulder, seemingly unbothered by the blood that dripped down the hilt and covered his hand.

“What is your name?”

“Shuten.”

“And you shall follow me?” Hiryuu asked kindly and the Warrior just sighed and gave Hiryuu a shrug and a rather bloodthirsty smile, revealing pointed teeth.

“As long as you keep me interested and fighting plenty of battles, I’m at your disposal.” He told him honestly, and Hiryuu reached up to wipe some of the blood upon his face with his sleeve. Immediately he saw within Shuten’s widened eyes the twisting forest, felt cold terror fill his veins, the deep emptiness of a life alone and unfilled, and most importantly the exhilaration of the sky that made his spirit and heart soar.

“And I shall hope that you will enjoy yourself thoroughly. Who knows, you might actually end up liking me.” Hiryuu said with a chuckle, causing Shuten to flush slightly, mutter some excuse before beginning to march towards Hiryuu’s camp where he was immediately greeted by Guen’s zealous embrace and Abi’s laughter hidden behind his sleeve. 

Ah, Hiryuu thought as he watched those three warriors together, I am almost complete.

* * *

The boy had tripped and fallen down a hill, rolling with little grace into their camp. The soldiers had at first been wary but had eventually taken pity on him, and had started speaking with him and even laughed and cheered with merriment and joy as the boy juggled bags of grain in air deftly. Hiryuu was struck by the intensity of his smile, how the air warmed around him and all sadness appeared to vanish, and as their eyes met while he approached, Hiryuu saw a mother’s smile, a gentle embrace, the spinning of an old spinning wheel that creaked, and heard the echoes of a lullaby on the wind.

His final Dragon Warrior, who was not a Warrior as much as being just a boy was as spindly as a doe, with a riot of unruly golden hair, and the spiritual power of the oracles who had once saved him swirling around him. This child, Hiryuu thought, had been loved by the world and loved the world in return with strength. What a curious choice. 

The boy was upon his knees before Hiryuu and smiled up at him widely,

“Hello, my king. My name is Zeno. I have been sent to aid you.”

“As my Warrior, child?” Hiryuu asked gently and the boy stood up, brushing his pants.

“I do not have any skills like that, but if I can make the world a better place, I am in your care, my king.” Zeno told him firmly and Hiryuu reached out his hand, that Zeno grasped, and finally, finally, Hiryuu felt complete in body and soul.

“I shall look forward to it, Zeno.” Hiryuu told him honestly, and he was grateful, so grateful that he had descended from the heavens. How else would he had known these feelings, been through these experiences? In the end, it would all be worth it, Hiryuu thought.

And so another story began.


End file.
